


In It To Win(win) It

by jongkey_krisho



Series: With You [1]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Angst, College AU, HAPPY ENDING AS WELL MAKING THAT CLEAR, M/M, Smut, dance team au, friendships, rest of nct - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-05
Updated: 2019-02-23
Packaged: 2019-06-22 02:16:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,538
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15571494
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jongkey_krisho/pseuds/jongkey_krisho
Summary: Nakamoto Yuta is one of the most well-known students in his university, mainly for his intense participation in his singing and dancing group 127! with fellow friends Mark and Jaehyun. This junior year, he was sure that he was going to win the first prize in the dance-off at the end of the year for a free two-week trip to America, recognition and a cash prize. They had to win this.Of course, things don’t always go to plan. First, Jaehyun is stupid and breaks his ankle and demands that they replace him, to not wait for him. That’s when Taeyong comes in. But then Taeyong brings along his cousin Haechan all the time, someone who Mark secretly loathes. Fighting erupts constantly and makes Yuta more stressed and next thing you know now he’s failing. He hires a tutor, named Sicheng, who is supposed to be very good. Sicheng is cute and now Yuta has a different issue on why he can’t concentrate. Now Yuta has two goals.Oh, and Yuta walked in on Sicheng’s best friend/roommate Ten having sex with Johnny. Try to get that image out of his head.How was his plan going to go work again? Wait, what plan?





	1. Oh No

This bitch was running late again.

 

They’ve been over this already. This year was going to be _big._ They had to make it big. Yuta has always been interested in being in a group, being able to dance and rap and sing to his heart’s content. Before he came to this university, he came from a small hometown in Japan with an even smaller high school, and the only thing he got _close_ to it was being in the choir. Which was just 70’s music. He had, like, two solo lines in his entire high school career.

 

No, nevermind. It wasn’t close to it at _all._

 

This is why when he got accepted to this big university in Seoul, South Korea, he was _estatic._ South Korea was always filled with people, so surely he could make some friends and be in a group. Him being fluent in Korean was already a big plus, so language wouldn’t be a barrier for him.

 

It had its own sets of problems, though.

 

See, the thing was, Yuta didn’t want to join a group in a company; they were going to make him a trainee for a shit long amount of time, and then what? Force him to follow their every whim? He’s heard of idols who get four hours of sleep, extreme diets, no dating, no days off. The devil would treat him like a king in hell compared to that, thank you very much.

 

This is why he had to start from scratch. Of course, it would be more difficult and maybe more costly, but they could set their own pace. Mental health was more important to Yuta, after all. That’s why when he met Jaehyun and Mark freshman year in his Intermediate Dance class, he was glad that those two also had the same passion as him, so the three of them quickly became acquainted and spent the entire freshman year just hanging out between them. When Jaehyun asked the other two to make a group, Yuta said yes without any hesitation.

 

Their whole sophomore year was spent with them trying to write lyrics to their own songs, making a sick choreography sequence to accompany them, and trying to learn some English all while balancing their life at the university now. Yuta learned to manage his classes while getting sleep, and he had a decent job at a company near his dorm so the extra cash he was rolling in also proved to be helpful, of course. The only bummer that was present that year was that the legendary dance-off that the school was known for was only available to juniors and seniors, so they weren’t able to join. They had only two tries to win it, and had to be amazing.

 

Which is why the leader running later was not helping.

 

Yuta received a text from Mark which said _why the hell r u still outside where the fck is jh_. Mark was still at the dance studio with all their stuff, and when Jaehyun told them he was going to be late because he was eating breakfast in the cafeteria and spilled milk all over his shirt, Yuta offered to wait for him outside. And the hoe still hasn’t shown up.

 

Yuta replied back, saying _I don’t c his dumb ass anywhere_ , when he finally saw Jaehyun running from where the science building was located, hair looking like it hasn’t been brushed in days, the same grey sweatpants and black-and-white striped t-shirt frayed at the edges which he had been wearing yesterday combined with his black sneakers. His black gym bag looked like it was about to fall off from his arm at any second, a whole bagel in his mouth.

 

Yeah, looks like today wasn’t one of his days.

 

Yuta quickly replied back to Mark saying _nvm I c him_ when Jaehyun finally came to where he was, panting and taking breaths as much as he could with a stupid bagel in his mouth. Jaehyun just had that sort of gift.

 

When he was done taking his exaggerated breaths, he took off the bagel from his mouth, but not before taking a bite from it. He offered some to Yuta, but he refused.

 

“What took you so damn long,” he said while the other munched on his bagel. “Didn’t you eat breakfast? Why the fuck do you have a bagel?”

 

“Why are you concerned about the bagel, I just offered you some.” Jaehyun swallowed before taking another bite of his bagel. It appeared to be cinnamon raisin, and it hasn’t been split from the middle. Yuta knew that Jaehyun hated eating the whole thing like that, and if it had no cream cheese, he definitely wasn’t going to eat it. He must have been starving. “Milk got over my entire breakfast when I was looking for a table. I was such in a hurry and I didn’t even get to enjoy my damn food. And I knew you were going to be pressing me for time.”  


“You know the tryouts are today,” Yuta explained. “I have a valid reason to be stressed.”

 

“Yeah, aren’t we all.” Jaehyun took another bite before speaking, not even bothering to finish his chewing. “Not my fault you guys didn’t wake me up when you both left for you morning classes.”

 

“We literally live in the same apartment. You should have heard us.”

 

“Well, I didn’t hear you.” He took another bite of his bagel. “Where’s Mark, by the way?”  
  
Oh, shit. Mark was still waiting for them inside.

 

With a sigh, Yuta headed towards the double doors and went inside the Arts building, Jaehyun following close behind. The studio that they usually used was on the third floor near an elevator at the end of the hall, so it wasn’t for another two minutes until they finally saw Mark, who was sitting in the middle of the floor munching a family-size bag of Cheetos, his face already orange from all the dust.

 

“Wot,” he replied to the other two, who were still standing in the doorway. “I’m hongry.”

 

“No one was saying anything, do you not see my bagel,” Jaehyun replied, holding said bagel above his head. It was already reduced to half its size. “You’re just ugly.”

 

“Listen here bitch,” Mark replied, throwing his Cheetos across the floor, where they slid halfway to his backpack that he had left on the wooden floor. “You’re just jealous. I just got laid yesterday, what are you going to do about it?”  


“Do you even remember the damn dude’s name?” Yuta quizzed him, eyes narrowing since he already knew the response.

 

“N-no BUT I was drunk so it doesn’t matter. You’re the one who bought all the Soju!”

 

“It was for good luck! For today! Not to have someone ride your dick!” Yuta groaned and walked over to where his bag was, ditching his jacket in the process to reveal his skinny tank top, holes ranging from needle-tip size to the size of Mark’s ego. “I’m not blowing my money on you guys again.”

 

“The guy did blow me real good-“  


“OKAY no one needed this information,” Jaehyun piped in. Already finished with his bagel, he bent down to where the Cheetos were and stuck his hand in the bag, grabbing a handful before stuffing a few in his mouth.

 

“Bitch, the fuck, those are MINE!” Mark got up from his spot on the floor and tackled Jaehyun to the ground, the two of them soon engaging in some sort of wrestling, the only sounds being heard consisting of the crunching of the Cheetos that fell from Jaehyun’s hand due to them stepping all over them.

 

“These Cheetos are the size of you dick!” Jaehyun screamed, trying to remove Mark’s arm from his neck.

 

“Then my dick is the size of your brain!” Mark shouted back, eventually removing his arms from Jaehyun and then grabbing his two wrists so that he won’t hit him back. “You owe us takeout.”

 

“What? The fuck, no, you took my bag of gummy bears yesterday without asking!”

 

“I’m going to tear both of your mouths off if you two don’t shut up!” Yuta screamed at them. “Ugly people can get laid, too, it ruins your logic.”

 

“That explains you last year in that one party,” Mark replied, finally removing his arms from Jaehyun and keeping them off. The other dude just smacked his shoulder. “Ow!”

 

“That’s what you get. Anyways, I guess we should start,” Jaehyun replied. “What choreo should we start first?”

 

“I’m not feeling quite confident with Good Thing,” Mark replied, slumping back against the wall. “I feel like my arms are going to fall off.”  


“Yeah, I think I broke my hip last time,” Yuta agreed. “Maybe we should change it-“  


“Today’s the tryouts to get accepted!” Jaehyun complained. “We can’t change it now-“  


“That’s for us to be able to compete, dumbass, we can always perform it differently-“  


“If we do an easy dance they’re going to think we’re not good enough. Uhhhh…” Jaehyun rubbed his eyes with his palms, not sure what they should do. “Maybe Good Thing won’t be a good song for the first round.”

 

“We don’t even know if we’ll pass the first round,” Yuta mentioned. He bent down on the floor to pick all the ruined Cheetos that the two idiots had stepped on. “And we have to see what we’re dealing with, after all-“

 

“Don’t jinx it, Yuta, don’t!” Mark shrieked, covering his ears with his hands. “No, no, no, don’t listen to Yuta, don’t listen to Yuta-“  


“I think we should have a break,” Jaehyun offered, digging into his bag for his water bottle.

 

“Bitch, we haven’t even started yet,” Yuta said. “How are we going to have a break?”

 

“Well, I have been running everywhere these past twenty minutes so I deserve a break. If you guys want to join me, then do.” He took a long sip of his water while Mark kept running his mouth.

 

“I think that our lovely Jaehyun here should buy us some pizza, paired with breadstick and coca-cola and-“

 

Jaehyun stopped drinking his water. “I’m going to buy pepsi for you-“  


“No! Please don’t! I’ll be good, I swear! No pepsi, please-“

 

Yeah, Yuta was only going to get more stressed today.

 

***

 

The rest of their morning practice went smoothly, with only a few instances of one them trying to kill the other. Jaehyun caved in to Mark’s whim about buying pizza for dinner but only if Yuta bought them sushi in the weekend, to which he replied why they had to drag him to their squabbles all the time. Jaehyun said that it was because Yuta was a true friend, which earned him a smack on his head.

 

Now Yuta was trudging along to his next class, which was Statistics 3. He had no idea why he was still forced to take this class for his business major, did he really had to take it for all four years? He wanted his own company, dammit, not work as an accountant. He had no idea how he had a B in this class.

 

He finally arrived in front of Math and Technology building and headed his way to his classroom, which was located in the second floor. There weren’t as many students as usual since he came early, so it wasn’t a surprise for him to find his stats class practically empty. He slid into the first empty seat he could find with no one near him and put on his headphones. He pulled out his notebook, hoping he could do some of his homework right now since he knew he wasn’t going to have time later.

 

It wasn’t until ten minutes later when the familiar brunet walked into the classroom and took his seat next to Yuta. He still didn’t know his name; the kid was really reserved and was always huddled in is own desk as if it were winter. He did offer Yuta those cookies that one time, so it was okay.

 

Yuta leaned over across the aisle between them, lowering down his headphones to his neck before he tapped the guy’s shoulder. “Hey.”  


As suspected, the other guy jumped, losing grip on his pencil which now rolled onto the ground between them. He just stared wide-eyed.

 

“I uh,” Yuta started. “Did you figure out the last problem for the big packet he gave us earlier last week? Actually, more like the last section? I had no idea what it was asking.”  


The boy just stared at him for a solid good ten seconds, then reached over to his backpack and pulled out a folder. He took out the packet in the front and just handed it to him. “Here.”  


“I, uh,” Yuta started. “I don’t think reading the answers will help at this point.”  


The boy still had his arm extended, waiting for Yuta to take it.

 

“Can I just, uh.” Yuta took the packet from him and gave him an awkward smile. “Let me just check what I already did.”

 

The other just turned his attention back to the notebook in which he was writing in.

 

By the third problem, Yuta knew he should stop. All of his answers were wrong anyways. He was really stuck on this unit and none of his studying has paid off so far. The kid’s papers were so clean, written small and clearly, while Yuta had to print off another packet since he practically erased everything he wrote and paper was a permanent gray. This new copy was turning ugly already.

 

He gave the guy’s paper back. “Thanks, but don’t worry. My answers are all shit anyways.”  
  
The guy blinked a few times before responding, to Yuta’s surprise. “There’s a YouTube that gives tutorials you can look up.”

 

“No, it’s fine, I’ll just read the textbook again and see if I understand it this time.” Yuta couldn’t waste any more time watching videos.

 

Nodding in response, the boy just slowly slid his paper back into the folder before stuffing it back into his backpack. Yuta stopped looking at him and just stared back to his own paper, arms on his lap in defeat.

 

He had a shit ton to do today.


	2. Disconnected

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> stream NCT regular. anyways

“Was it just me, or did anyone get a vibe of hatred from those women?” Mark asked the three of them as they were exiting the auditorium. He was referencing to the women who had attended them for the tryouts.

 

“Nope, you’re right for once,” Yuta answered him. “But all I cared about was whether we got in or not, which we did. No thanks to _this_ dude for being late,” he gestured towards Jaehyun.

 

“You know what, fuck you, Yuta, I hope you trip.”  


“I’m still waiting for my pizza.” Yuta pulled out his phone, already on the safari app as he typed in their location. “The closest pizza joint is in-“

 

“Let’s just eat at home, I want to sleep,” Mark replied. He was, indeed, tired, so tired that he haven’t even bothered to cover up his eye bags. “All in favor of dying, say I.”  


“I,” Jaehyun said, earning a smack from Mark.

 

“You’re stupid.”

  
  
“At least I’m not failing physics-“  


“Yuta’s about to fail stats! Hit him-“  
  
“Swear, don’t touch me,” Yuta warned. They really did bicker all the time. “And I’m not failing stats anyways! It’s just-“  


“Stupid? Like Jaehyun?”  
  
“Yeah, sure.”  


“You know what, Yuta, buy your own pizza with your own fucking money.”

 

“Only when you wake up on your own-“  


“Hey, guys,” Mark interrupted them. “When do we get the results of today? I didn’t understand shit of what those women were saying.”

 

“I think it’s Saturday, when they post it on that one bulletin on campus,” Jaehyun suggested. “I’m not really sure, to be honest.”

 

“What-ever.” Yuta stashed his phone back into his pocket. “I want a pepperoni and bacon pizza.”  


“Fuck. You.”

 

***

 

The results were posted on the bulletin like Jaehyun said.

 

They accepted to perform, which they probably suspected, but it still left them surprised and shouting praises to each other on how they knew they could do it. Well, for a group of teens who always shout insults at each other, the praises only lasted for 2 minutes, but still.

 

 The only bad news was that now they had to work harder.

 

Getting in the competition was the easy part (they just got stressed over everything to be honest.) The actual competition had many phases and steps so they had to memorize a whole set of dances just in case. And those were just the dances – they had to worry about the singing, the rapping, their fucking appearance, _everything._

 

And, of course, be better than the rest.

 

That’s why now it was going to be a lot tougher than how it has been these past couple of months. They had to _really_ focus now. Not that Yuta hasn’t been focusing. Of course not.

 

Their new schedule was to practice from 8 to 10 pm every other day. No more practices in the morning, thankfully, or else one of them was bound to screw up at least once a week. 

 

Now if only he could raise his B- in Statistics, that would be great.

 

It was two weeks into their new schedule, already a Thursday, and there seem to be no issue so far. Recently, they were trying to come up with a choreography to Drippin’, but they couldn’t exactly find something to match the beat, so that was going to be their main focus today.

 

 It was 7:45 when Mark walked into the practice room, startled to find Yuta doing a perfect split.

 

“How long have you been in here?!” He asked before throwing his book bag on the ground.

 

Yuta rolled his eyes at him. “I literally just came here five minutes ago. I had to go to the store to buy some poster board for one of my classes.”  


“Whatever you say. Now I know why you have big biceps – you work out all the time.”

 

Yuta got up from his spot on the floor slowly, making sure he didn’t pull a muscle. The last thing he needed was to stay up all night crying while cradling his foot with an ice pack. “Well, we still got to wait for Jaehyun, though.”

 

“He’s probably trying to flirt with that one guy again, the oblivious one. Hey, you guys both have a thing for oblivious people, don’t you?”

 

“You have a thing for being obnoxious, and yet here we are.”

 

“Are we here, though? And what defines here? Haven’t you ever thought about the expanse of the universe and-“  


“I see philosophy is the only class you are passing-“

 

“Shut up.” Mark got down and laid across the floor, head faced down. “I’m tired. Wake me up with Jaehyun gets here. I swear he better not start skipping again.”  


“He’ll choke on a bagel if he continues like that,” Yuta agreed.

 

They exercised in silence for about thirty minutes, trying to warm up as much as possible before Jaehyun arrived. They’ve been trying to take care of themselves more (physically, yeah only physically – Yuta’s level of stress never goes down) which ranged from skin care and appearance to sleep and exercise. The only thing they weren’t including was a healthy diet. Food was too delicious.

 

Well, they did try to eat a salad yesterday but the only vegetables were lettuce and kale. They added way too much spicy breaded chicken, bacon bits, croutons, tortilla strips, dressing-

 

They burned off the calories, though. It’s okay.

 

Maybe he should schedule himself a doctor’s appointment in a few weeks. Just to make sure.

 

Yuta stopped stretching after a while, deeming it alright to start their practice, Mark agreeing with him. They were just going to have to start without Jaehyun there.

 

“Okay, so I think that for the intro, we should move are arms like this,” Mark demonstrated. “Maybe step sideways-“  
  
“But we look like chickens,” Yuta argued.

 

“You are a chicken, what are you worrying about-“  


“Bitch-“  


“I’m a dog I guess-“  


“I think,” Yuta stepped forward and moved his feet for a few seconds, hands moving above his head. “This would be better.”

 

“I’m not doing that.”  


Yuta frowned, already walking over to the speaker to where his laptop was connected. “Maybe we should focus on another song for now.”  
  
“Yeah, maybe we should work on Whiplash. That ending part makes me feel like I lost my spine every time.”  


“Literally a pain in the back,” Yuta replied. He couldn’t help but laugh at his own joke, launching himself into a coughing fit for a few seconds. By the time he managed to compose himself, he looked over to Mark with a frown. “What?”  
  
“The only funny joke I know is you. You’re lame.”  


“Boy, shut up. Jaehyun is more lame- wait, what time is it?” He looked at the bottom right corner of his laptop screen, the time displaying to be 8:09. “He’s late.”  


“Wow, that guy must actually be interested in him. I’m surprised.”

 

“But what’s taking him so long? He hasn’t even texted-“  


“It’s literally ten minutes, Yuta, calm down. Jeesh, you’re so worked up over everything. You know what, maybe we should just cancel it today and have a day off. Watch a movie or something.”  
  
“But we’re not even close-“

 

“Do you realize the amount of time we have ‘till the actual talent show?! Yuta, at least get a hobby.”

 

“But-“

 

“Too late, sending a text to Jaehyun. ‘Don’t bother coming, we are going to see a movie. Meet us at the theater at 8:30 if you want to join. Wink wink.”

 

Sigh. “You’re so childish, Mark.”  


“Since when has acting like a child been so derogatory? It’s like saying you do something as a girl or look gay.”  
  
“You said my water bottle was gay yesterday.”

 

“It wasn’t an insult, that’s how you interpreted it.”

 

“Okay, let me rephrase what I meant without any misinterpretation: STOP.”

 

“Stop what, I already sent the text.”  
  
Yuta threw his hands in the air. “Why do I bother?”

 

“I don’t know why you bother me, go ask yourse-oww!” Mark shouted as fell on the floor. “The fuc-“

 

“Anyways, what movie do you supposed we should watch, then? By the way you’re paying for snacks.”

 

Mark frowned but didn’t argue, remembering perfectly clear how two days before, Yuta offered them all sushi and didn’t complain when the bill came to be more than 60 dollars. Besides, they always snuck in food in the theater. If they bought in the cinema all of the food they ate, the yearly total would be more than the average tuition of the university. Not that they pay it, of course. It was a blessing how scholarships exist.

 

One of the conditions on one of his scholarships, however, was that he couldn’t fail a class. Which is why Statistics kept freaking him out.

 

He really did need to have his stress checked out by a professional. After the doctor’s appointment, of course. He could practically feel triglycerides blocking his blood vessels right now.

 

They took the pretty short walk to the movie theater which was right near campus (almost everything was near campus. It was like their own city.)  Using their university passes, they were able to get a discount on their tickets (go broke college students in this decade!) and were now in line for popcorn when they noticed that the guy in front of them looked familiar-

 

Wait, wasn’t that-

 

“Hey, Yuta, doesn’t that look like the guy that Jaehyun keeps ogling at all the time?” Mark pointed out to him, already starting his poking habit again. “His name, what was him name, Tae… Taehyung? Taecyeon? Taeyeon? It was a Tae something, right?”  


“I don’t know.” Yuta shrugged his shoulders as he tried to brush off from Mark’s jabbing fingers. “I think it’s Tae-hey wait a second, if his crush is here, then…. Where is Jaehyun?”

 

Mark had ended his obnoxious poking and was now reaching for his phone. “Where the _fuck_ is that hoe?” That’s when the Tae guy in front of them turned away to face them giving them a confused stare.

 

Oh shit. “Hey, Taehyung, do you know where Jaehyun is?” Yuta asked him, mentally praying that that was the guy’s correct name.

 

No such luck. The guy in front of them still looked confused. “Um, my name is Taeyong-“

 

Mark held up his smartphone to his ear and interrupted Taeyong. “Hey, do you know where Jaehyun is? We thought he was with you- fuck! He’s still not answering!”

 

“Wh-why would I know where he is?” Taeyong started to stutter.

 

“Because he’s always wanting to hang out with you, oh fuck, where is he?!”  


“You know, we can always go back to the idea that maybe he’s just busy-“

 

“ _You_ were freaking out earlier too, don’t act like such a hypocrite-“ Yuta’s phone buzzing interjected their argument.

 

He took out his phone to silence it when he noticed the caller ID. He looked up to the other two and the three of them maintained eye contact (even Taeyong who had no idea what the fuck was going on.) Yuta held in a breath as he pulled the phone up to his ear. “Hello?”

 

“Oh, hey guys, listen, I don’t think I can make it today-“  


“You got five _fucking_ seconds to tell me where you are at.” Yuta was desperately hoping not to make a scene in such a public place.

 

There was some ruffling on the other side of the line and what appear to be a bed creaking and some sheets moving. “You see, there was-“

  
“I fucking swear you better not be getting laid-“ Yuta didn’t miss the cringed look that appeared on Taeyong’s face. Shit, maybe that wasn’t the best thing to say.

 

“What, no! I can’t… no not that, there’s some- no, anyways, you see, I was running late, right? And one thing led to another, and before you scream why I didn’t ask you guys for help, my phone died-“

 

“What do you mean _help_ -“

 

“So I’ve been charging it here at the hospital-“

 

“ _Hospital_?” Both Mark and Taeyong gave surprised looks to Yuta.

 

“Oh, yeah, I broke my foot. You know. I was running for being late. Anyways. So I won’t be going to today’s dance practice. Or any after that.”

 

***

 

“You got a lot of fucking nerve to be looking so smug right now,” an angry Mark told a calm Jaehyun, who was playing games on his phone while he was on lying down on the hospital bed, broken foot propped up on a stack of pillows.

 

Jaehyun just shrugged at Mark’s comment, eyes still glued to his phone. “I mean, it’s just a broken foot, I can handle it. I more concerned about when I get to leave this place in order to have some food, I’m starving.”

 

Mark just clapped his hands together and closed his eyes, meaning he was counting in his head in order to calm down.

 

“Oh, I forgot.” Jaehyun turned off his phone and threw it to the side, yawning before he continued. “I’m out of the group. Sorry.”

 

Yuta’s eyes nearly flew out of his skull. Well, it was a no-brainer, the guy just broke his foot, but still. That thought hasn’t crossed his mind yet. “You’re _out?_ ”

 

“The doctor said it would take two months to get out of the cast, and that he wouldn’t recommend me to do any difficult movements for a while after that. Oh, and he also gave me a strict diet plan. Said I had high LDL cholesterol or something. And my blood sugar was in the prediabetes range. But I still want some food.”

 

“I always knew our junk food was going to get us killed at one point,” Mark muttered under his breath. “How did you break your foot, anyways?”

 

“I already said I tripped. I fell off that high sidewalk next to the bookstore. Oh, they said I was unconscious for a while, too, so they had to take some brain tests or something. I don’t know.” He closed his eyes and pulled his blanket up to his chest. “I think they called my mom. She’s going to get mad. Anyways, you guys are going to have to replace me. Sorry.”  


“Wait, what do you mean replace you,” Yuta asked. “Who are we going to replace you with? Can they catch up anyways? Is that even allowed?”  


“I mean, yeah, we signed up as a trio. I can get a doctor’s note or something. Or they can just look at my fucking leg.” He attempted to lift up his leg but winced at the pain and brought it back down. “Besides, I know some people that can take my spot. It’s not a big deal.”  


“But… you’ve been looking forward to this. And all of the sudden…” Mark stammered. “You’re just going to have to _leave_ -“  


“It’s fine, don’t worry about it, it’s my fault for not being careful anyways. Look, just go and do it without me and win first prize, then use the movie to be rich and famous and _then_ get me a job if you so desperately want and there. Problem solved. It’s not the end of the world.” He shrugged his shoulders. “You know health is more important anyways.”  


“You guys literally fight over Cheetos and doritos all the time,” Yuta pointed out.

 

“Okay, Yuta, I got a diet plan, I’m not going to eat Cheetos anymore. Just don’t eat them in front of my face to taunt me.”  


“Then who am I supposed to give this Hershey bar to?” Mark asked, pulling an XL Hershey Bar from his jacket. “Guess I’ll eat it myself-“  


“Wait, please, I’ll start it tomorrow, just give me that!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay, so everytime I get free time, I'm like "Let's write a chapter for SBA and then work on the yuwin story" but my free time runs out before I finish on this chapter and then it was just an endless cycle of that but ANYWAYS i got lot's of free time right now so I'll update them back and forth. Promise there will be Yuwin moments in the next chapter! Also, I'm thinking of Lucas and Jungwoo now...hmmm
> 
> haven't edited so sorry about that. One of my hands is cold and the other isn't it's weird and i'm listening to twice rn so idk about my life anymore i just finished my nct marothon with a splash of svt i need to stop babbling


	3. Useless

“Si Cheng, let’s say you have a boyfriend,” started Ten, ignoring his friend’s choking sounds. “What would you wear on a date?”  


Si Cheng tried to swallow what was left of his water before answering, trying to not think about the pain now present in his throat. “Why would I have a boyfriend?”

 

“Don’t dodge the question.”  


“Well, um,” Si Cheng grabbed his pillow on his bed and pulled it to his chest, his now-forgotten water bottle in his lap. “It would depend on where the date is.”

 

“What if you don’t know?” Ten pulled his own blanket around his face, not breaking eye contact with SI Cheng. “What would you wear?”

 

“I’m really confused about what this has to do with blackbody radiation,” Si Cheng replied.

 

“Si Cheng, this is serious! I need your help.” Ten threw his blanket off his bed and threw himself backwards, making a loud thud sound when he landed on his back. He covered his face with his eyes. “Just tell me.”  


“I guess… some dark jeans and a sweater?” Si Cheng offered. “I don’t know. Why do you ask?”  


“Because Johnny didn’t tell me where our date is this time and my outfit from amazon never arrived anyways! And now I have ten minutes to get ready and I’m still wearing sweatpants.”

 

Si Cheng couldn’t help but let out a small laugh. “Ten minutes.”  


“Haha, really funny, you’re the one who refuses to call me by my real name.”

 

“You don’t call me Si Cheng, either.”

 

Ten threw his hands up in the air. “I just called you that now!”  


“Look, why don’t you just change into some clothes and that’s it? You’re acting like this is your first date with him.” Si Cheng laid his pillow across his lap and grabbed the quantum theory book he was reading earlier. “Plus you’ve done much worse with him. Now let me study for my astrophysics test.”

 

“You don’t need to study that, stupid. And what do you mean ‘much worse with him’?” Ten made air quotations while saying that. “What type of thoughts are you having, Winwin?”  


Si Cheng looked at him dead in the eye and said, “You dressed up in a nightgown and he took you to a five-star restaurant.”

 

“Oh, I thought you were talking about sex.” Ten got up from his bed and the wardrobe on his side of the room. “Yeah, that was pretty funny. Watch a college student in pajamas drink champagne surrounded by old rich people in a restaurant. Hey, now that I think about, Johnny didn’t even question anything.”

 

“He loves you for who you really are,” Si Cheng confirmed. “And you’re an idiot.”  


“I’m so flattered,” Ten joked.

 

“If you go to restaurants in pajamas then I don’t know why you’re asking me what to wear if clearly he doesn’t care.” Si Cheng closed his book again and got up to walk to his study table. “And you now have five minutes.”  


“Shit, shit, _shit,_ no, this can’t be happening now!” Ten grabbed the first thing that he saw, which were light-wash jeans and a white button-up shirt. He then proceeded to change while chanting shit under his breath. “I hate changing under pressure!”

 

“I’m not the one who was wallowing for an hour before engaging into a science conversation with me for a whole another hour while not checking the time.”  


Ten was pulling his shirt over his head and was about to respond when they heard two knocks on the door followed by a hello. “SHIT!”

 

“Johnny, come on, he’s almost done,” Si Cheng shouted. “Door’s unlocked.”

 

The door knob turned, and soon after the door opened and Johnny poked his head in the room. “Hey, Ten, how are you?”  


“Oh, good, thanks,” Ten replied, already looking around for his sneakers. “We were studying to kill some time. What did you do today?” He continued as he was now looking for his socks.

 

“Well, I had the long shift today at work,” Johnny answered. “I think I’ll be able to pay off those loans early if I work a little more overtime.”

 

“Which I why I should pay for today’s date,” Ten concluded as he sat down and tied his shoes. “You paid for it last time.”  


“You can’t. sorry, I already paid in advance.” Johnny replied.

 

Ten widen his eyes. “Don’t tell me we’re going to that restaurant again while I’m looking like this-“

 

“What time will you be back,” Si Cheng interrupted. “You said you needed help on your chemistry homework.”

 

“Tommorow,” Johnny answered for Ten, who was already done with his shoes and now grabbed his wallet and keys off his study table. “I have something planned for midnight.”  


“Are we going to summon a demon this time,” Ten quizzed him, referring to  last week when they spent a whole two hours trying to use a Ouija board.

 

“No, but there will be sin involved,” Johnny smirked at him. Si Cheng couldn’t help but choke. Again.

 

Ten, obviously not catching on to what his boyfriend just said, opened the remainder of the door and looked back to Si Cheng, waving. “Bye!! I’ll see you tomorrow! And don’t stay locked up in this room, it’s Saturday!” Ten said, closing the door behind them.

 

Si Cheng rolled his eyes and tried to continue reading where he left off in his book, which was now talking about wave-particle duality, one of his favorite concepts. However, he couldn’t focus on anything after that.

 

He sighed. Guess he wouldn’t study anymore for the rest of the day. His thoughts were only confirmed when his stomach growled in response. 

 

Fuck studying, he needed some food now.

 

***

 

“Who’s idea was it to eat at the canteen again?” Mark complained for the umpteenth time that hour.

 

Jaehyun rolled his eyes. “ _I_ wanted to eat here because it’s right next to my dorm and they have healthier options. _You_ followed me here because of the big coward you are.”

 

“Yeah, but they ran out of bulgogi and now I have to grab,” Mark said, picking up some food with his fork up high enough for them to see. “This. Why is Japanese food so weird?”  


“I’m literally right here,” Yuta exclaimed. “And were you not fucking crying for sushi the other day?”  


“Hey, sushi is good for you, right? I mean, I know fish is, and seaweed is a plant, and it has vegetables. It’s not like you fry it, either,” Jaehyun asked. “Yuta, I need your Japanese wisdom right now.”  


“Bold of you to assume he’s wise,” Mark muttered before stuffing what was on his fork in his mouth, not even chewing for five seconds before swallowing. “And we followed you here because you need help. How can you walk with crutches _and_ carry your food?”  


“Good point.” Jaehyun sighed. “This food is disgusting.”

 

“I can bring some sashimi and rice over if you like,” Yuta offered. “By the way, do you have high sodium, too?”

 

Jaehyun kept picking at his food, which consisted of bland noodles and a bowl of steamed vegetables. “I don’t think so, but my doctor said to avoid too much of anything.”  


“Maybe I can bring udon, I don’t know,” Yuta admitted. “This is hard.”

 

“Yeah, a person with an injury should just be worried about eating to get their strength back, not reading the back of every nutrition box,” Mark said. “My cousin has diabetes and he has to read every single thing I give him. It can be annoying.”  


“That’s a life or death situation, Mark, don’t joke about that!” Jaehyun yelled, throwing a punch at Mark’s arm who let out a yelp in return. “I can get it if I continue to eat too much sugar, so shut up and let me eat in piece.”

 

“You stole my Hershey bar the oth-hey, isn’t that the guy Yuta likes?” Mark asked, earning a surprised look from Yuta. “The one in your stats class! What’s his name again?”

 

He was pointing to a nearby table, which did indeed had that shy boy from his class eating bibimbap while writing on a notebook. Was it stats homework? Yuta hoped it wasn’t stats homework because he doesn’t know if they have any.   


“I never said I liked him,” Yuta attempted to defend himself. “I just said he was-“  


“Adorable, interesting, quiet, really nice,” Jaehyun joined in. “OMG LOOK HE MADE ME COOKIES!” He mocked.

 

“That was one time,” Yuta whispered. “Now leave me alone, Mr. I’m Going To Marry Taeyong And No One Can Stop Me.”

 

“Oh, he should be here by now,” Jaehyun muttered under his breath, pulling up his phone to check the time. “Where is he?”  


“Wait, clearly I missed something,” Mark said, putting his chopsticks down and clasping his hand together. “Why are you meeting Taeyong here?”

 

“He’s hang out with him before, it’s nothing new,” Yuta pointed out.

 

“I just have something I have to announc-oh, Taeyong!” Jaehyun shouted, waving his hands in the air as he caught the attention of the latter. “None of you better freaking say _anything_ , but I mean _anything,_ annoying, got it?”  


“Damn, he got it bad,” Yuta said, earning a laugh from Mark.

 

“What did I just say-oh, hey Taeyong,” Jaehyun replied to Taeyong who had walked over to their table, his own tray in his hands. “Here, sit down.”  


“Um, okay,” Taeyong agreed, setting his tray down next to Jaehyun and sitting down beside him. “Uh… hey.”

 

“So _you’re_ the guy Jaehyun keeps talking about!” Mark exclaimed, extending his hand for Taeyong to shake. The latter just stared at it for a whole five seconds before lifting up his hand to shake it.

 

“I, thanks? I guess?”

 

“We just saw him the other day when Jaehyun broke his foot, dumbass!” Yuta yelled in Mark’s ear. “Or did you get amnesia again?”   


“Okay, I only got amnesia when I was ten, and I had gotten back all my memories by a month later,” Mark retorted back to him. “Do you want me to give _you_ amnesia?”  


“Told you they act like this,” Jaehyun told a confused Taeyong. “I can’t wait ‘till they get their own boyfriends and torture them instead.”

 

“Yuta already got on-ow! Really? Again?”

 

“I told you I don’t even know what year he is,” Yuta defended himself. “Leave me alone, you Japanese-hater.”

 

“I don’t hate Japanese! I just hate _a_ Japanese-“

 

“So Taeyong is going to replace me in the group,” Jaehyun interrupted their dispute that was clearly getting nowhere. “I’m just asking for you guys to-“  


“Wait, _what?!_ ” Both Mark and Yuta exclaimed at the same time. They could not _believe_ what they were hearing.

 

Like, this was ridiculous. Yeah, sure, Jaehyun got injured and is obviously going to need time to heal, but that didn’t mean that they were going to like this decision. To hell with it. No, just no. What did he think their group was, just throw out someone when you don’t need them anymore or their useless? What?

 

“Jaehyun, I feel like we should just talk about this before making a rash decision,” Yuta started. He had no idea how he was going to persuade Jaehyun. “I thought you were bluffing before, but-“  


“Yeah, man, we thought you were joking! You can’t just dump us like that!” Mark stood up abruptly from his chair, the metal legs screeching across the floor. “We’re a team! You can’t just-“

 

“I can’t dance, Mark! How do you expect me to dance?! And it’s not the end of the world, I’ll still go to the studio and dance room with you guys and help with whatever, but I just can’t perform anymore.”

 

Yuta knew that Jaehyun couldn’t perform. It was painstakingly obvious, as painful as what Jaehyun must going through right now. Yuta knows Jaehyun has been looking forward to the event, and the fact that now he has to drop it because of his foot….. it pained him. He was his friends, they were all his friends, and no matter how much they argued, they were there for each other.

 

Yuta gestured Mark to sit back down, seeing that a bunch of people of turned their heads towards their table in order to see what the hell was going on, including that damned gorgeous kid from stats. Mark still pouted for a few more seconds before begrudgingly sitting back down.

 

“We’re still here for you, okay?” Yuta told Jaehyun, who sighed with relief. “Just don’t start ringing a bell when you want a foot massage.”

 

“There went my plans for tomorrow,”  Jaehyun laughed. “At least a hand massage? Ooh, get me a manicure like the one Taeyong has here!” He grabbed Taeyong’s hand and lifted it up to show the shining French manicure displayed on his fingers.

 

“Yeah, hell no,” Mark said. “But we should all meet for practice tomorrow, anyways.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dont kill me you know how end-of-the-semesters are but ANYWAYS i honestly feel like yuta and winwin are dating in real life like I would make an essay about it bet
> 
> tell me about any mistakes


	4. Death

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> not edited cause of time

Stupid Taeyong and his stupid ideas.

 

Haechan was trying to enjoy his lovely baked ziti with ricotta cheese, marinara sauce, ground beef, and a dash of spices and some other stuff while Taeyong told him his stupid idea. How dare he disrespect pasta with his idiocity.

  
Although, Haechan had to admit, Taeyong was pretty smart. Hated studying, but smart. There’s only been, like 6 times in his life when he’s made a regrettable decision, but he was smart. Which was why Haechan ignored him. He must be dreaming. Wouldn’t be the first time he dreams with pasta.

 

“Haechan, you got to go with me, please,” Taeyong begged him. “I’m scared. His friends creep me out, I don’t want to go alone.”  


“Do you not have confidence in Jaehyun and his choice of platonic partners,” Haechan questioned him, trying to sound smart when he accidently burned his mouth with pasta. Damn. Now he won’t taste a thing. Stupid Taeyong for ruining everything. “Why hang out with someone if you’re scared of them? That’s not a healthy relationship.”  


“We’re not _in_ a relationship, Haechan, which is why I can’t just not go!” Taeyong yelled at him. “I mean, I’ve met them a few times and such, but want if I do something embarrassing? You know how popular his group is! If they start laughing about me, the whole school would know! And what if they think I’m not cool or don’t deserve Jaehyun or something?”

 

“Look, from what you told me about what happened in the canteen, I think they prefer to roast each other more than looking for any flaws you have,” Haechan replied. “So don’t be scared of going. Think of this as an opportunity to learn how Jaehyun interacts with others.”

 

“If I shouldn’t be scared, then why won’t you go with me?” Taeyong questioned him. “What are you scared of?”

 

“I have literally no connection to that group, it’ll be awkward! And what if they spread gossip about me to the scho-“

 

“They’ll be too busy roasting each other,” Taeyong mimicked him from earlier, voice childish. “Do you not have confidence-“  


“It’s none of my business with that group,” Haechan finished. “But you do. Jaehyun invited _you_. He likes _you._ I shouldn’t just show up there unannounced and be like, ‘hey guys! Don’t mind me, I’m just waiting for Jaehyun and Taeyong to get it on.’”

 

“Why would you-what! Haechan, you pervert!” Taeyong laid his face down on the picnic table. “I can’t do it. I’m a coward.”  


“Mhmm, glad you noticed,” Haechan replied before stuffing another spoonful of pasta into his mouth. Deliciousness. Who created pasta, anyways? They must be admired at all costs.

 

Taeyong, at this point, knowing his cousin wasn’t going to budge in, sighed and got up. He’ll have to go alone, he supposed, no matter how scared he was. He just…

 

Haechan watched, continuing to stuff his face with pasta as Taeyong gathered up some clothes and started dressing. “Wait, you going _now?”_ he asked, mouth still full.

 

Taeyong shrugged. “I want to get there early to warm up, plus I have to catch up on whatever they had already learned.”

 

“Okay, fine, I’ll go,  enough with the guilt trip, just get me a gift card at that Italian bistro close from here no more than two days from now,” Haechan interjected, rapidly stuffing the rest of the pasta into his mouth as fast as he could.

 

Taeyong, having already accepted the fact that Haechan wasn’t going, rose up his eyebrow. “Why the sudden change of heart?”

 

Haechan swallowed as he was fishing around their room for his converse, his throat now aching. “I just want free pasta.”

 

Taeyong couldn’t help but smile. “Hurry up in ten seconds for a free smoothie as well.”

 

***

 

It’s hard being the only smart one in your group of friends. It’s a huge responsibility and Mark was pretty sure he had it under control most of the time.

 

Now was not one of those times.

 

Yuta and Jaehyun were arguing about the lyrics for Good Thing again. Again. Mark had commented on how this argument was not, in fact, a good thing, and well, now Mark needs to buy more concealer for the newest addition on his skin: a medium-sized, purple bruise under his left jaw. It wasn’t supposed to be a hard hit, but Mark tripped while Yuta was giving him a punch on his arm. So yeah. More injuries now.

 

Although Jaehyun still looked ridiculous in his cast, but forget about making a comment about that.

 

Even though Jaehyun wasn’t technically in the group anymore, that didn’t mean he was going to stop coming to the meetings. Jaehyun still had a whole list of songs that he still is in the process of composing and producing, and now he’s going to be the judge on whether they dance semi-decent or look like they are making a bad mating ritual dance. Of course, Mark asked if Jaehyun was going to do mating dances to Taeyong later, which earned him a small reddish-purplish bruise under his right jaw. He did not have enough concealer for this.

 

Despite all their teasing about Jaehyun’s future husband, it’s obvious that they were trying to help the two get together. Yuta had, not surprisedly, already revealed a very detailed plan of how they were going to do it. He was in five minutes of discussing this very elaborate plan when he realized why they were there in the dance practice room and told them to get their ass back to work.

 

Anyways.

 

They were there an hour ahead of time because Jaehyun couldn’t fucking read his watch., and, too lazy to go back to the dorm, they just hanged out there. So when Taeyong came a half-hour later, they were surprised. But that was only a small portion of Mark’s surprisement.

 

What was that _bitch_ doing here?!

 

It was that fucking Donghyuck kid, the most annoying-ass person Mark had ever had to fucking encounter. That kid was so goddamn annoying and got on his fucking nerves that Mark had no fucking clue _why_ he was here in the fucking university-

 

“Hey, guys,” Taeyong whispered, ushering Donghyuck in the room as well. “Sorry if you guys were waiting for me-“

 

“Tae, we’re all early, don’t worry about it.” Jaehyun just waved him off. “ _Someone_ over here was disagreeing with my clever ideas.”  


“We’re not going for clever, Jaehyun, we’re going for _amazing._ Jaw-dropping. Stunning. A masterpiece. You’re not even passing that chemistry class, what makes you think you’re clever?”  


“I heard statistics grade is now on the low end of the C scale,” Jaehyun replied back to Yuta. “You can’t judge.”  


“OH, um, this is my cousin, Haechan,” Taeyong quickly said, trying to break whatever tension the two had. Was this how they regularly act? “I, uh, he wanted to tag along, so-“

 

“Guess he’s a clingy bitch, too,” Mark muttered under his breath, not quiet enough.

 

Donghyuck – or Haechan, this dude thought it was cooler when _clearly_ it wasn’t – choked. “ExCUSE ME?”

 

“Mark, what the _fuck_?” Jaehyun hissed at him. “What are you doing-“

 

“Bitch, I can cling to whoever the _fuck_ I want, why do _you_ care?!” Haechan replied.

 

“Look, dumbass, no one wants to deal with your annoying ass, okay, so I suggest that you get the _fuck_ away from me.” He turned to Jaehyun. “I’m not doing this if he’s going to be here all the time-“

 

“MARK!” Yuta screamed. “You can’t _do_ that-“   


“Can someone _please_ tell me what’s going on?” Taeyong asked. “Why are we arguing, what did Haechan do?”

 

“Haechan has done _nothing_ and Mark is just out of his mind.” Jaehyun pulled Mark closer to him. “Can you tell me what the fuck you’re doing?”

 

“I need to tell you later, but for now, trust me okay? This dude is no good,” Mark whispered to him. “But try to get rid of him. I don’t want him here.”

 

***

 

 _Naoki gets my whole anime collection,_ Yuta continued to write down in his notebook. Wait, no, that was a _terrible_ idea, his brother called his anime collection trash. Bitch will probably sell it or something and earn quick cash right after Yuta’s death.

 

He scratched off his brother’s name and added Jaehyun. Yeah, Jaehyun called him a weeb sometimes and didn’t know Japanese, but he did see some anime and his foreign swagger ass can read the English subtitles. Him or Mark. No, scratch that, Mark left him pretty pissed today and was the reason why Yuta was in the midst of writing his will.

 

He sighed and threw his notebook down of the bench. This was harder than he expected.

 

Why didn’t his friends understand that whatever banters they did between each other shouldn’t be included with other people? Really, already calling someone a clingy bitch? What the hell was Mark thinking?

 

He leaned back and closed his eyes, trying to take a deep breath but instead making a somewhat choking sound. There went relaxation techniques. He was going to ask his dad for some methods again.

 

When he opened his eyes again, he was met with an incredibly gorgeous face. This guy looked _fantastic_. Wow, Yuta’s dead already _and_ meeting a pretty goddess? This was fascinating. Why didn’t he just die sooner?  


Wait, it’s that guy from his statistics class. The one who made the delicious cookies. Well, here in heaven he looked delicious too. Yuta couldn’t wait to spend the rest of eternity here.

 

The guy jumped back (noooo keep that face closer). “Sorry,” he muttered, his small accent showing up again. “I just thought something was wrong, you were choking and-“

 

“Oh, yeah I forgot about that.” Yuta sat up, swiping some of his hair away from his eyes so that he can see the hottie better. _No, Yuta, stop calling him pretty!_ he told himself, _a person is worth more than their beauty_! Shit, now he needed to say something fast. “What are you doing,” he asked nonchalantly.

 

The other dude just shift his books from one hand to another. “I was going to the café to study.”

 

“Oh, that’s great, I needed some expresso shots, too!” Yuta jumped up and grabbed all of his shit off the bench. “Why don’t we go together, it’s almost getting dark, anyways.”

 

“Sure?” he answered, waiting for Yuta to get his stuff together before walking. “I’m mean, I’m staying there for a while, so-“

 

“Nah, it’s fine, I should do some studying too.” Yuta waved him off. “I mean, that last test for statistics was pretty hard, am I right?”

 

The male shrugged. “I mean, it’s the basis for the rest of the semester, it wasn’t _that_ big of a deal,” he stated.

 

Wait, _basis_? _Basis?_ As in, if you didn’t get the material, you’re screwed? Yuta’s screwed now? No, this can’t be happening, no!

 

Damn it, he couldn’t postpone writing that will anyways.

 

***

 

Si Cheng could not _believe_ what was happening.

 

He was at the café. With Yuta. Nakamoto Yuta. Japanese Yuta. Friends-of-Jaehyun-and-Mark Yuta. Statistic class Yuta. Good-looking Yuta. _That Yuta._

 

Thank _god_ Ten was not here right now with him and instead with Johnny at who-knows-where. Maybe having….intercourse or demon summonings, Si Cheng didn’t know which. Wait, what was the vulgar term Ten would say? Getting some dick? Fucking? Si Cheng didn’t know. Nor did it mattered. All that mattered was that Ten wasn’t here. Which was a pro.

  
A con of this situation would _also_ be that Ten wasn’t here because Si Cheng doesn’t know what to do in this situation.  Ten was like that one Marvel character who could come up with a thousand possible futures or something. Millions? Si Cheng didn’t know.

 

Even though those three were some of the most popular adults at the university, it was pretty obvious that they found each other as best friends. Sure, there was bickering here and there, but it looked like nothing could ever tear them apart. Why he invited himself to Si Cheng’s plans? Si Cheng didn-

 

Yeah, he got the picture, he didn’t know _anything_. He was that fucking stupid.

 

Speaking of knowing, right now he was trying to read his gravitational waves packet for his Astrophysics class and this Yuta was not helping.

 

First, he slipped first thing as he walked in, he stuff falling everyone as he landed backwards on the slippery tile. Si Cheng lifted him up gently, trying to ignore the staring eyes.

 

Although he had to admit, Yuta drinking three expressos with straws was pretty hilarious to watch.

 

Si Cheng took out his pencil pouch and digged around for his highlighter to take some notes. When he looked up, Yuta had already finished eating his second chocolate chip muffin was scribbling furiously down in his notebook.

 

He had to admit, he was curious. It looked like Yuta was planning for an essay already. Scratched out lines, arrows pointed everywhere. Although it appeared to be in Japanese (Si Cheng could recognize the Kanji since they were Chinese characters but didn’t understand the other symbols), Yuta was concentrated, his tongue poking out every now and then, his eyes squinted as he never lost sight of his paper. He never took notes like this in stats class.

 

“What class is that for?” Si Cheng asked, his curiosity getting the best of him. “It looks like a lot of work.”   


“Oh, this?” Yuta shrugged and handed it to him. “I’m just writing my will. Hey, quick question, what’s your shirt size?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay so have you seen that BL Chinese movie A Round Trip for Love or something like that? I was told not to watch the sequel cause of sad endings so I've only seen the first one but I think there's a novel with the happy ending? I mean it's China they either censor everything or give sad endings but anyways Lu Feng reminded me of Jaehyun and Xiao Chen reminded me of like Luhan and Baekhyun it was cool i love that movie
> 
> Okay so WATCH WAYV COME ON PEOPLE YOU CAME FOR YUWIN SUPPORT WINWIN


	5. A Plan

“Johnny, why do you only have grapes in your fridge,” Ten said, already heading to the other side of the room to rummage around in the cupboards. “How am I supposed to watch a movie with no snacks?”

 

“Sorry, I forgot to go to the store this week.” Johnny plopped himself down on the floor, head turning to stare at Si Cheng. “Is he secretly a girl now or something? He’s like a pregnant girl with cravings.”

 

“When my mom was pregnant with me, my dad had cravings, not her.” Si Cheng reached into his bag and pulled out a long can. “Ten, you can have some of my pringles if you want.”  


Ten let out a dramatic sigh and sat next to Johnny, reaching for the small remote to turn on the TV. “It’s fine, I should have listened to you and bought something. Johnny, you’re the only person who doesn’t eat stuff during movies.”

 

“Last time you came over and we watched a movie, you didn’t eat anything either!”  


“Yeah I did! I specifically remember you asking me if you could-oh.”

 

Si Cheng blinked a couple of times, confused. “What? What did he eat, Ten?”

 

Ten shrugged and let out smile. “Me?”

 

“We weren’t paying attention to the movie, anyways,” Johnny added.

 

“Ay, _why_ don’t you have any food?!”

 

“I can go to the store now-“

 

“Johnny, the problem isn’t no snacks, there’s just no food in here, when do you even eat? I know you don’t have a meal plan or like to eat out.” Ten pulled out his phone. “I’m ordering pizza FOR EVERYONE-“

 

“I don’t need any-“  


“Nope, too late, you’re going to reject a present from your boyfriend? I’m offended- oh, hello, I’d like to order three medium pizzas please.”  


Johnny grabbed his pillow and laid down on the floor, allowing ten to hug closer to him. Meanwhile, Si Cheng grabbed the blankets from Johnny’s bed and wrapped himself around. Those two always bickered about food.

 

It was nice having movie nights like this. Usually it was just Ten and him, watching movies or going to the stores late at night, considering how Johnny was always busy with work. Last time he remembered, Johnny had three jobs or something, but Ten swore with all his heart that Johnny was a straight-A student. Impossible.

 

That’s why Ten always enjoyed his dates with Johnny as much as he could. He texted him as much as he could between classes and shifts. Si Cheng just knew that Ten was going to be reminding Johnny to eat for the next 2 weeks.

 

When the pizza finally arrived and they finally started the horror movie, they weren’t even five minutes in when Johnny started dozing off.

 

Ten grabbed both of his shoulders and shook him. “Johnny, wake up and go to bed. Johhny. Johnny, come on.”

 

Johnny was startled. “Hm, what? What is it? Is it over?”

 

“You have a really bad perception of time,” Si Cheng told him.

 

“You’re going to bed.” Ten grabbed Johnny’s arm and led him to his bed. “You’re not even in your pajamas! Get out of your jeans, you’re going to be uncomfortable.

 

Johnny whined. “But I wanted to spend the night with you, I don’t want to go to sleep yet.”

 

“You think I haven’t noticed the concealer under your eyes? You’re not getting sleep again, are you?”

 

Johnny’s eyes went wide. “How did you know I had makeup on?”

 

Ten glared at him. “Yeah, Johnny, it’s not like I don’t use it on a daily basis.” He started tugging at Johnny’s jeans. “Hurry up, take them off-“

 

“I’M STILL HERE!” Si Cheng shouted. He started shaking his pringles can. “Please don’t strip in front of me!”

 

“Like we don’t change in front of each other, Winwin.” He took off Johnny’s jeans and went to his closet. “Let me get you your pajama pants.”

 

Johnny whined. “Can I at least sleep next to you? Please?”

 

Looks like Ten was going to text reminds to Johnny about his sleep schedule, too.

 

***

 

“You know, I’m not used to seeing you on the sidelines,” Yuta told Jaehyun during one of their breaks. They were eating some veggie straws, courtesy of Jaehyun. Mark went to get more water, and Taeyong was talking quietly to his cousin Haechan.

 

That had been another thing Yuta hasn’t been used to seeing, either. Haechan always tagged along with Taeyong, even though apparently Mark and him were both seething with hatred at each other. It was becoming a normal thing of Mark to complain about him until Jaehyun stuff a piece of bread in his mouth. The worst part was that it was always Yuta’s bread. Of course, when Yuta complains and says “give me back my bread” Mark starts shouting “let’s get this bread!” like the dumbass he is.

 

“Mark needs to let go of whatever happened in the past,” Yuta told Jaehyun, still stuffing his mouth. “Haechan might be a different person now.”  


“You know Mark doesn’t hate on people for no reason.” He sighed, throwing the nearly-empty bag on Yuta’s lap, who happily started eating the remnants. “Well, Taeyong is still a bit…reserved around me, and I swear to god it better not be because of Haechan and Mark.”

 

Yuta remained silent, focusing on the two cousins in front of them. Haechan had sent something and Taeyong started doing that certain giggle of his. Jaehyun just stared, smile spreading on his face, which made Yuta want to groan out loud before remembering that’s exactly how he’s been acting around Winwin.

 

Ah, Winwin. He finally got a name for the brunet. It was only two weeks ago when they went out for coffee, and before he left, Yuta gave him his number. Of course, Winwin has only started a conversation twice, while Yuta starts texting him for everything from statistics to covering up a murder to Chinese swear words to raspberry cheesecake recipes.

 

Maybe he was being a _tad_ bit clingy to this newcomer but Mark and Jaehyun have been having their own problems and Yuta feels like he nags them too much. Besides, he needed a fresh perspective, one that didn’t come from dumbasses. The cheesecake was a success, anyways, except Yuta and Jaehyun had two bites each before Mark wolfed the whole thing down.

 

He hasn’t seen him since that coffee break the other day, other than when they are in statistics together. That class sucked ass, though, and Yuta was always either bored or in tears when it finished. His grade was at a C-, and it was no thanks to this group.

 

Why do they have to fight about everything? Yuta and Jaehyun. Jaehyun and Mark. Mark and Haechan. Mark and Yuta. Taeyong was somehow always the peacemaker and must have been the only person keeping this place from being a 100% chaos. Right now, it was at an 87.9%.

 

He was going to have to make an appointment with that therapist soon, quickly before it was too late. He didn’t want bags under his eyes, oh hell no.

 

Noodles always made him feel better. That’s it! He could ask Winwin to go eat noodles with him! Winwin was such a calming person to be around with. Always so chill and helpful. Just what Yuta needed.

 

He quickly sent a text to the Chinese.

 

Winko

_[photo attached]_

_Thx again for the recipe I’ll make some 4 u another time_

_np_

**Today, 8:04 pm**

 

_Hey r u free today_

_Like around 9 or something_

_Just asking_

 

More like three but whatever.

 

Jaehyun peered over to read Yuta’s phone. “Who’s this Winko dude?”

 

“The Chinese guy that I told about. Winwin.” Yuta kept staring at his phone, excited to see the three dots meaning that Winwin was responding.

 

“Oh the dude who offered you cookies, yeah.” Jaehyun grabbed his bag from the side and digged around for something, while Yuta turned his attention back to his phone as soon as he heard a ping.

 

_I’m studying for upcoming stats and physics tests_

_But nothing in particular no_

_Y_

 

“YES let’s see if he’s willing,” Yuta muttered to himself as he quickly typed out his inquiry, while Jaehyun looked at him, a puzzled expression displayed on his face. He was clutching a black sharpie in his hand, which must have been what he was looking for.

 

“Willing for what?” Jaehyun uncapped the marker and handed it to Yuta, who was already familiar with writing on his cast. “What are you inviting him for?”  
  
“Eat noodles. I need a break from everything.” He took the marker from Jaehyun and quickly scribbled out some Japanese characters, so know Jaehyun was going to have to google translate them later. “And he’s nice. I like Winwin.”  


_We can tell_ Jaehyun mumblemed. Either Yuta was deaf from all those anime intros he hears or he simply didn’t give a fuck, anyways, because he capped the marker and tossed it back to him, eager to pick up his phone already and text away. Yuta can sometimes have the longest texting sessions anyways.

 

His fingers were practically flying as he continued speaking to Jaehyun. “What about that Thai place? Do you think he likes Thai food? Or maybe he finds it to spicy-“  


“You literally have his number, ask him-“ Jaehyun interrupted, but once again, Yuta probably didn’t give a fuck.

 

“They also have some nice soup, yeah, I’ll invite him there…”

 

***

 

Taeyong wondered why Jaehyun kept inviting him to the cinema out of all places, but he concluded that it was probably because of the broken leg.

 

They had just started hanging out with one another before Jaehyun broke his bones, and the city from which they were at also limited the types of activities that they could participate in. So when Jaehyun told him he wanted to take him somewhere after the movie, Taeyong was left perplexed.

 

The walk to the said mysterious place was painstakingly slow. Neither of them had a car, and Jaehyun was in no way possible of riding a bike, so walking was their only option. That left Jaehyun to limp with his crutches by his side, while Taeyong could only walk beside him at the same pace.

 

There wasn’t much they could do the dance practices. The whole point of them were to, well, dance, and Jaehyun mainly spent the majority of the time throwing comments and suggestions here and there or otherwise scribbling away in his notebook. Haechan had been tagging along, too, usually spending the time doing his homework. Taeyong had been scared of bringing Haechan due to his now obvious hatred towards Mark, but whatever. Hadn’t they met before in the college and weren’t aggressive to each other? Who knows.

 

Thankfully, the walk there was filled with nonsense chatter between the two. The two’s most recent debate was whether… water was wet, and ironically they got into a heated argument.

 

Taeyong could _not_ believe he was head over heels over a guy who didn’t understand how items at the molecular level worked.

 

Jaehyun stopped walking/limping when they arrived in front of a small food cart on the road where all the street vendors were located.

 

Before Taeyong could asked what they were doing, Jaehyun had order two servings of rainbow cotton candy, already pulling out his debit card from his jacket with his free hand and handing it over to pay.

 

While the server prepared their order, Taeyong spoke up. “Jaehyun, what are you doing, you didn’t have to pay for me.”  


“You told me earlier that you were in the mood for some mind-blowing cotton candy so I thought, you know…” Jaehyun shrugged. “Besides, I don’t mind having a cheat day-oh, thanks!” he was interrupted  by the server, holding out the cones to them. He accepted the cones and handed one to Taeyong. “Here, my… treat, haha.”  


Taeyong bit it the soft candy, the smile appearing on his face only partly because of the sugar.

 

***

 

Yuta was in front of the restaurant, waiting for Winwin to arrive.

 

He couldn’t exactly stare at other people walking by, though, so he got out his phone and went to twitter for some memes. He got bored of it, after a while, so he tried to think of something productive that he could do.

 

Typing in the university’s website, he went to his account and checked his gradebook for his classes. The red 68% from his statistics class did enough to send him into a state of panic. Two other classes had 74% and 76% as well.

 

Yuta was failing. He was failing classes, and he was in need of help _now_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you guys saw the jason derule lay and nct 127 collab right
> 
> right
> 
> (Ps where did winko come anyways every single fanfic uses that term)


End file.
